Fear Itself

"Fear Itself": Depression Life

This essay by Robert S. McElavine generally describes the living conditions experienced by the American people during the depression age in the 1930's. Depression can generally be defined as the conditions experienced due to the effects of both the first and the second world wars. According to the writer, the highly affected people were the African Americans. Their problems were caused not only by the effects of the depression but also by racial discrimination adopted by the white people. They believed that the African Americans were minor beings and thus did not qualify to be represented in political issues (Francis, 2006).

According to the writer, the depression conditions made the African Americans live under desperate circumstances. Most Americans lost their jobs due to the effects of the world wars. This meant that these victims of the depression could not earn money to care for their basic needs. The children of the depression not only lacked proper schooling, but also other important things like footwear and clothing. They would often ask their parents what had gone wrong because they were not accustomed to the current living conditions. The government did provide some relief for the poor by supplying them with food through FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration). This food provision made things a little less stressful, even though the food provided was not enough for such an enormous population.

The women's role in society was also a strong point in this essay. Traditionally, women had fewer responsibilities in the family setup compared to men. However, the age of the depression changed the whole traditional family set up. Women were forced by circumstances to look for work to feed themselves and their families. The working conditions however, did not women and they received a great deal of discrimination from their male colleagues who thought that, providing for the family was a responsibility of a man. Thus, women were subjected to poor wages and gender discrimination from the opposite sex (Hawley, 2004).

Initially, parents assumed the responsibility of providing for their children, however, with the worst economic conditions experienced in American history, the parents could not provide everything their children needed any more. The only source of income were the meager wages earned from the informal jobs offered by the government and, of course begging, whose benefits were insignificant. The situation made children assume a greater responsibility at an early age. Often times, children were asked to help supplement the little family incomes; this was achieved by working after school. Older children also assumed the responsibility of caring for the young ones while their mothers worked outside the home.

This author's argument was very convincing and the effects